


Six's a Crowd One-shots

by The_Darker_Side_ofThings



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:41:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25350319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Darker_Side_ofThings/pseuds/The_Darker_Side_ofThings
Summary: Just a bunch of character reactions I originally scrapped since I couldn't find any space in the story.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 11





	1. Stars and Fears

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't give Cyrus much justice in the book, and I didn't want him to get pushed away while plot happened.  
> Also shout out for Petrolhead1 for suggesting Jotterpad. Since this was completely done on a mobile phone, I apologize in advance if the format looks weird. 
> 
> This is cringe.

"This is your fault, Luna."  
A man with dark brown that could easily be mistaken for black hissed, standing in front of the little girl. "And it always will be. Wretched brat."  
"N-no!" Luna gasped, trembling as all he saw was the man who towered over her. He forcibly grabbed her wrist, and she squeaked, pulling away but to no avail. He pulled her down a dark hallway and opened to door to reveal a wide garage.  
"Let me go!"  
"Let her go," a calm, masculine voice said with a tone of authority. A tall, thin man stood in the middle of the garage as if he just teleported there.  
His white hair was in a ponytail and his eyes were an unforgiving silver. Luna immediately magnetized to him, but the brown-haired man did not let go of her wrist.  
"Or what? I don't fear you, Aku."  
"Let my daughter go."  
The brown-haired man looked at Luna who was starting to cry, then forcibly shoved her onto the paved ground. She broke her fall with her hands, feeling them sting her palms when something loud echo through the garage and she screamed, looking up to see her father collapse into a bloody heap on the floor. His face was hardly recognizable as several shotgun rounds had blasted his face apart, revealing muscles and even bone as he lay, lifeless, on the floor. Laughter filled her ears as Luna jumped awake, tears flooding her face and she could hear herself crying, but did not stop herself as her crying doubled, anxiety and fear wracked her body as she hugged her legs.  
"D- daddy," she choked, looking around the room in a vain attempt to see him somehow appear from the shadows and hug her, or walk into the room smiling. Even Cyrus wasn't his own room, leaving the little girl in miserable solitude. Unable to sleep and in a desperate need of a hug, Luna slid off the bed and walked down the hallway on trembling feet, whimpering and sniffling as the laughter did not leave her ears, and somehow seemed to grow louder the faster she walked. Every shadow appeared to be watching her, and she started feeling jumpy and fearful, and kept checking the empty hallway behind her as if someone was going to snatch her up.  
Luna slipped out of the back door and let the grass tickle her feet, although it did nothing to erase her bad dream.  
"Weave."  
Luna jumped so hard she involuntarily gasped, her nerves completely shot. A Weavile about her size was watching her, tilting his head. She looked at the door behind her, wondering if she should run back inside; her heart was starting to hurt from pounding so hard.  
"Weavile?"  
Luna saw some movement behind the Pokémon and looked past the Weavile. Cyrus was standing with his back to her, stepping back from a telescope.  
She let out a breath of relief, knowing the Pokémon wasn't feral. She quickly walked past the Weavile, who followed her with the grin it wore, seemingly pleased at her flustered state.  
"Cyrus?" Luna asked, hurrying to him and quickly grabbing a leg, as if he would disappear if she let go. It was comforting to hold onto something solid, and she failed to realize he was staring coldly at her as she wasn't looking at his face, but instead had her eyes closed as she pressed her cheek against his leg, savoring the comfort.  
"Luna," Cyrus said, not brushing her away nor inviting her to stay as he watched her odd display of affection. "It is late for you. Go back to bed."  
"I had a nightmare and couldn't sleep," she admitted, hugging his leg as she looked into the starry heavens. "You weren't there."  
"A child your size needs rest. There is nothing for you to do out here."  
"I don't want to go alone. Can I stay with you?"  
"No."  
"Please?"  
"No."  
"Cyrus," Luna sniffled, wiping her nose. "I'm scared. Can you at least tuck me in?"  
He looked at her with an expression saying he would never tuck her in or read a bedtime story even if his life depended on it.  
"What are you doing, anyway?"  
Silence, then: "Stargazing."  
"Stargazing? What's that?"  
Weavile watched his master explain the heavens to the little girl, allowing her to peak through his telescope. She was tiny compared to both it and him.  
"I see a cat!"  
"That's most likely the constellation-"  
"Woah! A shooting star!"  
Luna was completely entranced by the mystical universe surrounding their world, all memories fading away the further she could see beyond the earth they stood on, and Cyrus moved the telescope for her to see even more of the stars. She pulled her face away from the lens to look at him.  
"Cyrus? I like space, too. Why are you out here, anyway?"  
"I can clear my thoughts and keep my emotions at bay. The mansion gets too crowded and loud. It's important to remember what matters to us."  
Cyrus sat down on his knees to adjust the stargazing instrument, and Luna leaned back onto his lap, much to his dismay.  
"I think space is beautiful," she said quietly, appreciating the warmth his body was producing in the cold night. Checked the stars through the lens, tweaking the instrument ever so slightly to line up with a constellation. If he moved it just right... the stars would form a Milotic… no, more to the left… there.  
"If you look, Luna you can see a Milotic right next to the star cluster on the top right."  
But Luna wasn't moving, and right as he was about to stand up, his Weavile placed a claw on his master's knee, shaking his head.  
"Weavile."  
The Pokémon placed a claw to his lips to say "Shh," and Cyrus looked at the little girl who saved against his body, breathing slowly and quietly as she was fast asleep, no longer burdened with fears and anxiety.  
Cyrus looked at her then Weavile, who was giving that sly smile he always had. With a silent sigh, the Galactic leader rose from the grass as he held Luna to his chest, her chin resting on his shoulder. Had Luna been awake, she would have watched an abandoned telescope disappear into the dark, lonely night as she was brought inside.  
Cyrus silently walked to his room, gently pulled the sheets away, set the vulnerable Luna in the middle, and gingerly tucked her in.  
Luna never woke up crying ever since.


	2. Snowball Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was a Christmas chapter which I scrapped during development.   
> Everyone loves a good snowball fight. Add six adult men, and what do you get?  
> Testosterone. And lots of it. Ever seen men compete in any sport? It's vicious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For these one- shots, the actual story line of Nine's a crowd doesn't correlate with what goes on in here. Giovanni doesn't hate Lysandre and vice versa, Jackie is a lot less tense, and there's no police or bounty hunters chasing them down. 
> 
> This is also cringe.

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"  
The squeals of delighted children swarmed to each room, bouncing on th bed of sleepy adults.   
"Wake up!" Sophie giggled, shaking Luna awake, who was curled up in Cyrus's bed. Cyrus himself didn't need the sirens of children to revive him; he had been awake through the night.   
Before Luna could ask what was happening, Sophie dashed away into Maxie's room, jumping on his bed. He shot awake, jamming the glasses on his nose as he looked around bleary-eyed.   
"What?"   
But Sophie was already gone, Jackie behind her. With each leader sleepily awakened, they stumbled into the hall, where Jackie was buttoning up his jacket.   
"What's going on?" Archie asked, wearing a blue robe and his bandana still on his head.   
"Look outside!" Sophie squealed, and promptly ran outside, leaving the door open to allow a sharp draft to flood through each and every room.   
"It's snowing!" Jackie cried out, unusually relaxed around the adults as Luna perked up greatly, showing a tiny smile.   
"Snowing?" Lysandre asked, walking to the door and looking at the blanket of white that threatened to enter the house with the slightest of breeze. Sophie's tracks were deep as she was running through the snow, her breath coming out like billows of smoke.   
"Sinnoh is pretty cold, isn't it?" Maxie asked, holding out his hand as a fat flake delicately fluttered into the palm of his hand to promptly melt.   
"Not all of it. Snowpoint City and Mount Coronet are the snowiest locations," Cyrus said blandly, watching the flurry dance around him.   
Luna slipped into the snow, where it threatened to surround her entire middle. Archie laughed, picking her up as she started shivering, and she clung tightly to his chest. Archie was considered a furnace to her as he radiated a prominent amount of heat, which she didn't mind.   
"So elegant," Lysandre said as he clicked his tongue, stuffing his hands into his pockets.   
"Is everything to you elegant, Lysandre?" Ghetsis hissed, watching the snow fall with one glaring eye.   
"You aren't," Lysandre combated, clicking his teeth again. Archie snorted, promptly coughing loudly into his hand when Ghetsis shot the pirate a deadly glare.  
"It's so cold," Maxie grumbled, wiping water off his lenses.   
"If we were stuck in a snowstorm," Archie noted. "You would probably be the best suited, Maxie. You're wearing a bunch of layers."  
A snowball coming from nowhere shot through the air and struck Ghetsis's shoulder, who curled a lip. Archie laughed again, and Luna clung onto him tighter as her whole body rumbled with his voice.   
Ghetsis growled, scooping up a handful of the frozen stuff and shoved it in Archie's face, causing the clumps of snow to drop onto Luna.   
Jackie through another snowball, striking Cyrus's leg. He looked down, his expression unreadable.   
"What's the meaning of throwing a ball of crystalized water at a person?"  
"Arceus, Cyrus," Giovanni said. "You make even snowball fights sound boring."   
"Snowball fights?"  
"Yes," Giovanni sighed. "You make balls of snow and chuck them at people."  
"If it's a fight, wouldn't it be better to put rocks inside, to strike the enemy in the temple and immobilize them? If the rock strikes hard enough against the nerve, the person will hopefully die, making you the ultimate winner."  
"Holy shi-" Archie quickly curbed his tongue as Luna looked at him. "No! You don't kill anyone! You just throw snow at them, like so--" he set Luna down and stepped away from the group, grabbing a handful of snow and balling it up, then launched it right into Maxie's stomach. Maxie grunted as the snow exploded against his jacket.   
"That's it?" Cyrus asked, watching Maxie brush away the cold fluff.   
"Here," Giovanni entered. "You try. Make a ball of snow."  
The Team Rocket leader gestured to a frozen mound, and Cyrus eyed it.   
"It won't bite you," Lysandre reassured, warming his hands with his breath.   
Jackie and Sophie eagerly watched Cyrus behind their already made fort several feet away, as he dug his thin fingers into the snow, almost calculating it.   
"Now, ball it up!" Giovanni called back as Cyrus looked at the group. He packed it tightly into a smooth orb.   
"Now, throw it at someone!"   
Cyrus lamely threw it at the group, were it flopped into the snow, several feet short from where anyone was standing.   
"No, no!" Ghetsis snarled. "You're doing it wrong! You got to throw it so hard you're opponent will bruise into next Wednesday!"  
"What does that even mean?" Lysandre asked, confused.   
The Team Plasma leader trudged into the snow, brushed past Cyrus, and, with his back to the group, stayed hunched over, his shoulders quivering.   
Giovanni snorted, raising his eyebrows.   
"Wow, that's showing us, Ghetsis," he scoffed, the group quietly laughing. Ghetsis spun around, not throwing, but shot a snow ball through the air that whistled as it torpedoed right into Giovanni's crotch. The man was down in a matter of seconds, and everyone but Luna and Sophie flinched. Ghestsis was no longer a player; he was a deadly opponent.   
"Ooh…" Maxie hissed, feeling the pain as if he were the one hit. "Low blow…"  
"I thought you weren't supposed to immobilize the enemy," Cyrus said, watching Archie and Lysandre carry Giovanni to a snow bank, ducking behind it.   
"You just got to hit them where it hurts," Ghetsis grinned, tossing an ice ball repeatedly in his hand.   
Maxie took Luna's hand and quickly escaped from the line of fire, hiding behind a line of frozen bushes.   
"Follow me, Cyrus!" Ghetsis said as he hurried behind a tree, Cyrus following behind.   
A cold blast of frost his Ghetsis right in the face, Sophie's loud voice grating his eardrums.   
"This is our territory!"   
"Yeah!" Jackie chimed in. Wiping his face, Ghetsis saw Cyrus simply let a snowball strike him, doing nothing to deflect it.   
"Hurry, Cyrus! Behind this snowbank!" Ghetsis, somehow, jumped over a tall mound of snow, that looked like it might have been trash cans that got glazed over. Cyrus slipped behind them, looking around the corner.   
"Should we try to strike the jugular?"   
"Not with snow-- we need ice."  
__________

"Whatever you do, don't go into the light!"  
"The only light I see is your flames for hair. Wear a hat or something! We'll be spotted in seconds!" Giovanni snapped, sitting up as the snow make a wet spot all down his back.   
"Yeah," Archie said, nodding. "He'll make it."  
"Stupid Ghetsis… stupid kids… stupid ice…"   
Giovanni mumbled, poking his head and looking at the situation. Maxie and Luna took refuge behind the shrubbery near the mansion. Cyrus and Ghestsis were behind the trash bins, while Sophie and Jackie were behind a snow bank that they reinforced into a fort; tall walls of snow concealing the two successfully.   
"We need to make a thick-walled fort. So we cannot be ambushed!" Giovanni hissed, unable to keep his alpha instincts at bay. "Lysandre! You build the wall and Archie will get the snow from around us- we can't exhaust all our resources so we have enough for both the fort and snowballs."  
"I'll be attacked," Archie grumbled. "Why can't Lysandre do it?"  
"Because he's the tallest in the group and will be excellent in erecting the structure tall and thick."  
"Please don't _ever_ say that again," Lysandre said, his ears going red. Archie snorted, trembling as he held back laughter.   
"A- aye, captain," Archie choked, laughing at the mortified expression on Lysandre's face.   
"I'll make the ammunition," Giovanni continued, nodding as Archie quickly dashed away, tears filling the bottom of his eyes. "Lysandre! Get building!"  
__________  
"What are they doing?" Maxie hissed, adjusting his glasses as he watched Archie stray a good few yards away from his base, shoveling armfuls of snow into his chest and darting back to his fort. Lysandre's bright hair was certainly easy to spot as he was seen quickly patting the walls, where Maxie could see his lips moving. He supposed the Kalosian was talking to Giovanni, who was hidden inside the fort.   
"Should we do the same?" Luna asked quietly, clinging to Maxie's leg.   
"I need you to spy on your siblings, actually." Maxie mumbled, rubbing his chin. "Yes… we need to find out what the others are doing, to figure out the best counter strike and offensive push… can you be a good spy, Luna? Luna?"   
Maxie tore his gaze from the trash bins that were eerily quiet and still, wondering what Ghetsis and Cyrus were up to, only to see the little girl was gone. She was scooting along the snow, miraculously making very little tracks as she glided away, sometimes sliding on her belly on the icier parts.   
"That kid is good."  
___________  
"Ok, Sophie!" Jackie giggled evilly, savoring the feeling of the ambitions in his chest. "We need to make the most snowballs of all!"  
"Then charge everyone?"  
"Yes!"   
Like clockwork, brother and sister started packing the snow into as much ammunition they could make, loading their fort with a mound of the white orbs.   
"Who should we attack first?" Sophie giggled, warming her hands under her armpits.   
"Luna and Maxie!" Jackie giggled, peeking over their wall. "Then let's strike Archie when he's out again!"  
Sophie carried as many snowballs she could hold, while Jackie took one in each hand. Entering the warzone, they charged at the bushes, leaving deep wakes behind them as they both howled a battlecry, Jackie throwing the snowballs as Sophie supplied them. Maxie quickly flattened himself as close as he could against the roots of the bushes, thankful the trunks froze over to support his wall.   
He rose to throw a ball, before quickly landing on his stomach as the projectiles shot overhead, thudding somewhere behind him. He started making his own weapons.   
"Surrender!" Jackie commanded somewhere in the distance.   
"Never!" Maxie countered as he jumped to his feet, launching one blindly. A snowball struck his shoulder, as his own hit Jackie's leg. That kid could _throw_ Maxie noted as he felt his shoulder stung.   
Sophie squealed, as Maxie saw Giovanni had recovered his injury, and struck the girl from behind. The result in doing so made her drop the rest of the ammunition, and Jackie gasped.   
Giovanni's fort, reached at least seven feet on three walls, the one facing the warzone was around five, where Giovanni from the torso up was revealed, throwing his own projectiles at whoever was unlucky to get in his range. And those unlucky souls were Jackie and Sophie.   
The mafia leader struck Sophie six times in rapid fire, and Jackie, eight. Lysandre could be seen still constructing the walls, which, Maxie noticed, were more tall than they were thick. Yes… he needed to find the weak spot…  
________  
"Now, strike that tree," Ghetsis commanded, and Cyrus launched the ball at terrifying speed, hitting the frozen branch and making it crack. With a tired groan, the branch splintered and snapped away from the tree, tumbling ten feet into the snow below, sending the white fluff to billow into the air before getting snatched into the wind.   
"Excellent…"  
_____  
"Archie! Give me more snow!" Gio said as Jackie and Sophie slunk away to their base to lick their wounds. The pirate crawled through a hole in the wall and disappeared from the fort.   
"I need more snow to make the walls thicker," Lysandre said, patting down the sides. "I made them tall, but now I need them thick."  
"Archie is getting supplies," Giovanni said, scanning the battlefield. "But as many snowballs I make, they seem to disappear. Are you using them for the wall?"  
"I haven't touched your snowballs. I been using what's on the ground and what Archie brought."  
Archie crawled back inside, completely soaked as he dumped a pile of snow in the middle of the fort. Lysandre immediately took some for the structural support of the walls.   
"Cyrus and Ghestsis have been quiet on the East side, captain," Archie reported with a tone off suspicion. "Should one of us scout it out?"  
"No. We wait for them to come out, and then strike."   
_________  
"Wow, Luna," Maxie said, whistling. "That's a lot of information. He licked some snow that he scooped up as she presented him an ice ball from what she named "The Cold Ones."  
"I think Frozen Galaxy is better."   
Maxie twisted the orb in his hands. The ice mad a perfect shell to definitely inflict pain, and when he threw it against the tree less than a foot away, he checked the remains. Parts of slush and gravel, and in the center was another ice chunk. Made perfect sense of such weaponry to come from such people. The smooth ice not only allowed the ball to become more aerodynamic and to travel faster with less drag, but it made a painful impact against the enemy as the ice would shatter. The slush would then be a shock absorber, allowing the ice in the center to follow the momentum and path of speed to then make a hit against the skin, which would double the damage from the first strike. Yes… the true weapon of a madman.   
"Frightening," was all Maxie said before presented another ball from Team Cooperation. When Maxie threw it, it revealed to be a basic snowball designed by a child, simply snow, nothing else. The last weapon, from Team Elemental Rocket, (Maxie outvoted Luna's idea on naming the trio Tall Team) turned to be a snowball filled with ice and slush. While it didn't have the dangerous coating, it was deemed the second deadliest in the group, as the snow would explode on contact, sending the heavier slush to react like shrapnel and go in unpredictable directions, making it especially dangerous if targetted near the face.   
"Luna," Maxie looked at her somberly. "Are you willing to steal Frozen Galaxy's weapon stock?"  
"Why can't we make the same balls as them?"  
"We don't have a water source to make the ice coating. Either we use snow, or we steal."  
"I'll do my best."   
"Good girl!"   
________  
"Luna left Team Magma," Archie reported as he stood on the lookout, using his hands as binoculars. Giovanni was in the fort, packing together the snowballs.   
"How can you even see that?" Lysandre asked, squinting.   
"When you been on moving seas for as long as I have, you notice the minute differences around you, such as the simple movements behind the tree over there."   
"Yeah, I see nothing."  
"Giovanni!" Archie barked. "She's going to Jackie's fort! But look! He's not there! He's over by the trash bins!"  
"How do you _see_ this?" Giovanni hissed as he squinted against the blinding white snow. "He's hardly noticable."  
There was a scream, a little girl scream as Sophie chased Luna right into the middle of the range of all the forts. Right into No Man's Land.   
"Target the girls!" Archie commanded, and Giovanni activated his rapid fire, sending a volley of projectiles at the two targets.   
"Sophie! No!" Jackie cried out dramatically, his hand outstretched as he ran after his sister, carrying as many snowballs as he could.   
Maxie immediately targeted Sophie, who became the prime target of the group. Giovanni struck Jackie, who tripped and fell, disappearing into the ground of white.   
Archie left his base, taking refuge behind a tree and threw a tightly-packed ball right at Luna, hitting her side. She stopped running. Her mistake.   
"Luna!" Maxie called out. It was like slow motion; Maxie jumped from his own base and launched himself into the air over the girl, becoming a sacrifice to Giovanni's rapid fire, even shouting _"Noooooooooo!"_ As he took the brunt of the attack. He landed in the snow, and did not rise.   
Luna hurried to his side, shaking him.   
"Run," Maxie coughed, looking at her. "Run while you still can."   
Luna saw Giovanni duck behind the wall to reload, then turned around to see Sophie charging right over. Luna had an idea, and ran the best she could to the Elemental Rocket base, and quickly ran to the side of the wall, checking to make sure Sophie was still following. She was, but halted in her steps as Giovanni and Lysandre appeared, armed to the teeth.   
While the two pelted the poor Sophie to the ground, Luna ran to Archie's tree and threw a snowball at his back, as he had his back to her to make his own ammunition.   
"Ha!" She triumphed. He stood his full height, and she saw just how many snowballs he'd been making. She booked it back to No Man's Land, Archie hot on her heals as he laughed maniacally, throwing his snowballs at her.   
Jackie stood up and joined the fight, attacking Archie. Seeing the conflict, Giovanni hissed loudly.   
"Our supplier left to battle. Lysandre, we must join them as we have no resources left."  
"Why don't we use the walls?"  
"Because we worked too hard on our fort to squander it into weaponry! Now fight with me!"   
Left with no choice, Lysandre and Giovanni crawled out of their fort, using the snow around them for weapons, throwing at whoever moved. Luna hit Giovanni's side; Lysandre struck the back of Jackie's neck; Sophie narrowly missed Archie, her ball landing harmlessly in the distance. Maxie recovered from his heroic act and hit Giovanni's ribs, who accidentally hit Archie in the leg. Luna missed Lysandre who slipped on a frozen patch, landing heavily. Archie got Jackie on the chin, who hit Maxie's knee. The air was filled with snow and laughter, and finally, fatigue started to hit. Panting hard, Sophie got Jackie by accident, who couldn't use his arms as they were propped against his knees to help him catch his breath. With everyone's exhausted panting came another sound: "Our turn."  
Cyrus was holding a trash bin, and Ghestsis reached inside and pulled out a weapon of mass destruction. Everyone paled, and Lysandre literally shoved Sophie down as the ice projectile rocketed through the air and narrowly missed the girl, hitting Lysandre's arm right as he pushed her down.   
"Ow!"  
"Please. Cyrus. Don't do this," Maxie gasped, forcing his tired legs to stand. Cyrus only pulled out an ice ball-- and launched it with furious velocity that the adults had no choice but to use themselves to shield the children as they were pelted again and again with the horrific attacks, Giovanni, understandably, flinching the most when he heard the whistle of an ice ball shooting by.   
"We yield! We yield!" Giovanni shouted as he took a particularly nasty hit on his chest, the ice biting his skin.   
"We will be the supreme leaders!" Ghetsis cackled, throwing with his good arm a rather large ice ball that would've knocked Jackie out had Archie not been there.   
"Since when did Cyrus learn to throw like that?" Lysandre said as he could have sworn that the ice wasn't the only thing shattering when he was hit, imagining his ribs snapping like twigs.   
"I was taught by Ghetsis," Cyrus said calmly as if completely decimating three teams in one move was a simple chore.   
"We yield!" Maxie called as his glasses were knocked clean off his face, spinning in the air to land several feet away.  
"Say we are the ultimate overlords," Ghetsis said as he launched another ice ball, hitting Giovanni's stomach.  
A hesitant mumble. Ghestsis fished in the garbage bin to pull out an ice ball, and judging how little he had to reach, there was plenty more where that came from.   
"You're the ultimate overlords!" Everyone said quickly, raising their hands to stop Ghetsis from moving any further.  
"Good," he said calmly. "We win."   
Cyrus nodded to Ghetsis who paraded past the beaten teams, who picked themselves up and limped behind. Maxie swore under his breath as he finally found his glasses, brushing away the frost.   
"That was fun," Ghetsis said cheerfully as he entered the kitchen. Giovanni grumbled, and Lysandre pulled his jacket sleeve up to reveal a nasty bruise forming where his arm was struck, where it was already turning a dark blue. Archie had the same marks developing on his leg, looking much larger. Maxie slumped on the couch, nursing a swelling cheek. They knew more bruises were developing on other parts of their bodies, but were simply too exhausted to look and relied on the stinging, throbbing pain of the welts to reveal their locations.   
"Ghetsis?" Lysandre asked, watching the three children disappear down the hallway. "I think our bruising will last far past next Wednesday."  
Everyone nodded in exhausted agreement.


	3. Incomplete/scrapped one-shot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Found this fermenting in my phone. Probably something I was writing out during the night and hit writer's block and neglected, hence, why it's scrapped.   
> I just really wish I can remember all the nonsense that floods my mind when I think of these ideas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously, I have no idea where this was heading, but I am open to suggestions if you want me to complete this. Sounds like it was a fun chapter that I just couldn't figure out how to finish.

"Maxieeeeeee," Archie crooned, two excited children giggling at his feet.   
"What now?" Maxie asked as he looked up from his magazine that was a special on rare rocks.   
"There's something we want you to see!" Sophie blurted, grinning. Maxie sighed, standing up.   
"Let's make this quick, then."   
They quickly ran outside into the snowy world, where Maxie tagged behind. They traveled down the path to the river, which had frozen up into long, cold path.   
Everyone else was there, but was more surprising than Ghetsis somehow repelling snowflakes from landing on him from sheer hate, but that Cyrus was in the middle of the ice with Luna. She was talking quietly to him, trying to explain how to skate, but the Galactic leader seemed more interested on going back inside.   
"It's really not that hard," Lysandre said as he glided smoothly on his shoes, blinking flakes that stuck to his lashes. He seemed to make everything he did magnified with majestic splendor.   
"Wow." Was all Maxie could say as Giovanni walked carefully across the glassy ground and help in getting Cyrus to skate.   
"Look," Giovanni said, jamming his fingers into his pockets. "If I can do it, you can do it."   
Cyrus caught Archie's gaze and glared, the wind ominously getting colder.   
Sophie hurried to his sister's side, and the two started to skate, with ease, in circles around Cyrus.   
Giovanni held his own hand to the younger one.   
"Look, I'll help you keep balance."  
Cyrus looked at Giovanni's hand then to his face, still not moving.   
"If you say 'no homo' it's not weird!" Archie called with hands cupped around his mouth as he yelled at the two. Lysandre and Maxie laughed, but Cyrus was not pleased.   
"I prefer to stay on solid land," Cyrus said as he didn't accept Giovanni's help.   
"You got in the middle of the ice though," Lysandre countered, joining Sophie and Luna in skating around the Galactic leader.   
"I only did so because I was pushed onto it."   
He wasn't the only one who was brooding; Ghetsis just stood still at border of the frozen river and the snowy land, the bottom of his robes were soaked.   
Archie joined Cyrus and Giovanni, grinning widely.   
"Come on, it's not that hard! Little Luna can do it! And she's four!"  
"Five," Luna said as she glided past.   
"See? She's learning so fast! Even you can do it, Cyrus!"  
"Wait, where's Jackie?" Maxie asked, doing a quick head count.   
"Over here, yo!"   
Everyone turned to see Guzma trudging through the (to the adults) knee-deep snow, his Golisopod in his wake. Sophie squealed loudly, skated off the ice, and ran to Guzma with open arms.   
"Now that's a nice greeting!" Guzma said, watching her run towards him with rather intense excitement. But she passed Guzma and hugging his Golisopod. "Spoke too soon."  
His Pokémon seemed to be laughing as Sophie was entranced by his appearance alone.   
"I was at the mansion when he came over," Jackie explained. "And we followed the foot prints.   
"What's going in here?" Guzma asked, watching Luna, Sophie, Lysandre, (and now Archie), circling Cyrus and Giovanni like sharks, while Ghetsis was glaring at anyone that moved. Maxie was trying to keep himself warm.   
"Skating lessons," Giovanni said as Guzma walked over, sliding on the ice.   
"Woah! It's really slick in some spots!"  
"Making it ideal for skating!" Archie beamed. "Join us, Maxie and Ghetsis!"  
"No," the two said in unison.   
"What's the matter, Maxie?" Archie teased. "Scared?"   
"I'm not scared!" Maxie snapped back. Ghetsis scoffed, smirking at Maxie.   
Archie leaned over to Lysandre.   
"The old geezer probably can't use his cane on the ice, anyway. He'll probably keel over from exhaustion the second he moves."  
"I am not weak!" Ghetsis snarled.   
"Uh-huh. Yeah, sure," Archie said with disbelief.   
Ghetsis huffed, and glided onto the ice like a phantom as his robes billowed behind him.   
"There!"Ghetsis hissed, turning his nose up at Archie.   
Guzma grinned.   
"Skating party!"  
"This is not a party," Cyrus growled. "It's a crowd of sweaty old people and three kids stuck on ice."  
"We can make it a party," Archie grinned, flopping his arm around Maxie's shoulders. "Add some booze and everything gets exciting."  
"I would rather not think about it," Cyrus said, looking at the hazy sky.   
"What's booze?" Jackie asked, panting.   
"We talkin' specifics?" Guzma asked, raising his eyebrows.   
"I bet I can skate faster than you," Archie challenged Guzma, planting his feet equally apart.   
"What is that, a pose to assert dominance?" Maxie asked, looking at Archie's posture.   
"Shouldn't we not be all located in one spot of the ice?" Lysandre questioned as he looked down the ice under his feet.   
"It's thick enough," Archie said, and jumped up and down, slamming his feet each time, to show the strength of the ice below them.   
"Like your skull," Maxie huffed, jamming his hands under his armpits.   
Sophie squealed as she zoomed past everyone sliding on her belly.


	4. Guzma's Escape "Deleted Scene"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened when Guzma was in the headquarters and what lead to his escape. Scrapped it due to how nonsensical it was becoming since my mind was slipping from lack of sleep (I hate storms, and my phone decides to blare all the tornado alerts in the most terrifying volumes SEVERAL times throughout the night).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Veronica was a character scrapped after development. She was Hunter's wife but was killed, and Hunter's daughters were kidnapped and sold into trafficking. Hunter then became a bounty hunter to retrieve his daughters, but every day he fails, Veronica grows more restless, haunting him to the point she could be considered a demon. She gets so mad he failed one day and slashes his eyes, making one change color and causing him to (slightly) get bothered by bright lights.   
> Then I realized that I was going way too deep into the paranormal stuff and ended all character development. Hunter just has complete heterochromia.

Josephine left the room quickly but was unable to catch up to Hunter. 

"Uh, can you unchain me?" Guzma asked the two security guards who were guarding the door on each side. They just looked at him but did not move. "Please?" 

“Hunter’s children were sold into sex trafficking,” a woman said as she appeared from behind Guzma, approaching his side. “All three daughters were never to be seen again. When he called the police, they did all they could but were unable to find his daughters. He became a bounty hunter to find the thieves himself. While he does work with the police, he prefers to do things his own way, sometimes, less law-abiding.” 

“First off, were you standing behind me the whole time without saying anything? Because that’s... weird. Secondly, is the backstory necessary?” 

She leveled herself to Guzma, her face inches from his. She had long, blackish-purple hair with a streak of white down the bangs. 

“My name’s Veronica,” she said kindly. “I just keep an eye on things here. Also, I do like to tell backstories of the people here. Adds relatability.” 

“Just how loosey-goosey _is_ this place? People are coming and going so much it’s hard to follow.” 

“Don’t mind me, I’ll be gone in a while,” Veronica said gently. “But you’ll need a place to sleep. We have a few empty rooms you can use to sleep in.” 

Guzma looked at her suspiciously while she slipped a key in his cuffs, unlocking them. She guided him down the hallway and into a carpeted, clean room, which was extraordinarily well-kempt. It looked like a single hotel room with no decorations and almost everything was a shade of blue, ranging from navy to mixed with gray. A single bed was against the door, and a wooden desk that hosted a chair and a lamp sat below a window that currently had the shades drawn. Other than that, the room was empty. 

Guzma looked at the bed with the navy-blue sheets and blue-gray pillow, walking into the room. 

“Why did they chain me to the table for questioning, but then led to a comfortable room with no security for the night?” 

“Oh, Guzma,” Veronica laughed hollowly, sending chills down the back of Guzma’s neck. When Veronica spoke, her voice was unnaturally empty. “What makes you think you’re not trapped because you’re not physically held down?” 

“What?” 

Veronica shined a blinding smile, gently pushing Guzma into the room. He stumbled, extremely suspicious as he wasn’t sure why Veronica said that. But she admitted that he _was_ trapped, and he needed to get out immediately. 

“Get some rest,” she said cheerfully, oblivious to Guzma’s repulsed look as she stepped back, standing in the doorway. 

“Uh, thanks,” Guzma said, feeling a harsh chill scramble down his spine. Goosebumps rippled across his skin, and the urge to sleep suddenly smashed into him like a tidal wave. He yawned, suddenly feeling more exhausted since he entered the room. “Yo, Veronica? What’s happening?” 

“You’re getting tired, Guzma,” Veronica laughed again from somewhere behind the adolescence. “You need sleep.” 

Feeling as if he hadn’t slept in weeks, Guzma sat on the bed, rubbing his face. 

“Rest well, Guzma.” 

Guzma looked at the doorway, but Veronica was gone. Despite detecting no cameras, Guzma had a feeling he was watched. He flopped on the bed knowing he should be rather concerned about his sudden lethargic behavior but was too exhausted to care. He closed his eyes, Veronica’s fake, plastic smile refusing to leave his mind as sleep snared his body, bringing it down. 

___ 

He sat up awake, feeling sweat beading off his forehead. He knew something was extremely off, and he needed to leave immediately. 

“You should have some breakfast,” Veronica said cheerfully, leaning over Guzma’s bedside. 

“Woah! How long were you there?!” Guzma asked, quickly scooting as far as he could from her. _Was she watching me sleep?_

“I been here as long as I was.” 

“I need my space, yo!” 

“Terribly sorry, Guzma,” Veronica laughed hollowly. “But it is important to have a healthy meal after a healthy sleep.” 

“Where’s Hunter?” 

“He and Josephine had to talk with Chief Harlow after you talked with him—” 

“That was last night,” Guzma growled, shoving past Veronica and walking to the hallway. “He couldn’t have been gone for that long.” 

“He took the news really hard.” 

“Oh, you mean he drank his sorrows away?” 

“No,” Veronica chirped. “He rounded up each and every one of his most elite hunters. They plan to raid the forest today.” 

“Where is he?” Guzma asked, straightening his jacket as Veronica refused to leave his side, uncomfortably close. “And you don’t have to stand so close, there.” 

“Terribly sorry!” Veronica said although she didn’t move away. Guzma waited for her to answer his question, but she said nothing. 

“So... where’s Hunter?” 

“Hunter cannot be bothered,” Veronica said. “It is best that you stay in your room.” 

“Veronica,” Guzma hissed through his teeth. “I got to go home.” 

That wasn’t completely a lie; he did need to contact the mafia leader about the news on the raid. 

“You can’t just leave here, friend,” Veronica said, shocked. “You are still needed.” 

“For what?” 

Veronica placed a hand on Guzma’s shoulder, making him instantly cry out in pain as if she electrocuted him. His shoulder felt like it was frozen over; his arm refused to move and his muscles felt like they snapped. The lights in the hallway burned Guzma’s eyes, the ground rocked under his feet and he instantly felt his stomach churn with bile. 

“G-Golisopod!” Guzma threw his Pokéball down, summoning his Pokémon. “Get this woman off of me!” 

Golisopod used its powerful claws to push Veronica off his master, her nails digging deep into Guzma’s skin, and he could feel warm blood trickle down his arm. Veronica let out a wail that shook the walls, making Guzma cover his ears as his head started to throb, squeezing his eyes shut. 

“Shut up!” 

He opened his eyes to see Veronica was gone and his Golisopod standing over his body, guarding his master. Guzma sat up, gasping for breath and looking around, bewildered. He needed to get out of this paranormal hellhole. 

“Come on, bud, let’s blow this joint.” 

He stood up and hurried down the hallway, rubbing his throbbing shoulder. 

Whoever Veronica truly was, Guzma knew she was insane. But what _was_ she? A banshee? Some sort of hallucination? No, that is impossible; she uncuffed him with keys, meaning she was able to hold something physical. But why didn’t Hunter say something about her being in the room? He clearly would have been able to have seen her. He pulled his shirt to reveal his shoulder, which he could see fresh scrapes of long nails. Stupid witch probably gave him an infection with whatever had been festering under her nails. 

He started walking down the hall, mumbling to nothing in particular. 

“Escape this place,” he repeated under his breath, walking faster with each step. 

“Escape?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Veronica finds Guzma and he and uses his Pokémon to fight her, then runs to a room to escape through the window. He finds out they are barred for every room. He then uses his Pokémon to break the metal bars but he cannot fit entirely and forces lacerations upon him and uses his own blood to lubricate his body and slides out the window. Guzma then runs to a videophone and contacts Giovanni, continuing the chapter.


End file.
